Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.

Except... Their growth in the market that counts - smartphones - isn't steady at all. In fact, ever since the announcement of the switch to WP, it's been dropping like a brick. Right up until the WP announcement, even Symbian sales were up EVERY. SINGLE. QUARTER. After the announcement, everything collapsed.

Even if you look at just Lumia sales, there hasn't been "steady" growth at all - it's been a rollercoaster of ups and downs.

It baffles me how you can still call Nokia healthy. Had Nokia been posting these very same figures with Android, you would have sung a completely different tune, proclaiming Nokia another example of nobody being able to make money off Android.

No I wouldn't. Its important to separate my enjoyment and evangelism of Windows Phone from my curiosity in how a company facing some pretty steep challenges can navigate them.

The fact that they use Windows Phone is coincidental, but I'd be just as interested if they were doing something genuinely cool with Android. Just like I'm interested in BlackBerry and Jolla and Firefox. I doubt them all to varying degree, just like I have expressed my reservations about Windows Phone -- but I am absolutely fascinated by watching these companies try to chip away at the more established players.

I also enjoy trying to predict what happens, being right, and being wrong.

You make a point that they're not moving the needle much in marketshare, but that to me is an afterthought beyond managing a transition and stabilizing their financial position.

There are two challenges for Nokia: Stay alive, and grow your shipments. Windows Phone 8 growing overall is a Microsoft problem, and I understand that Nokia can only do so much.

I still think despite this, they made the right long term bet with Windows Phone, especially given the information they had at the time. Would they be selling more with Android? Maybe if they found a creative way to buy themselves enough time to see the strategy through. I just don't think they wouldve had the financial means to get there.

Do you think Nokia in the US would've gone down better with an Android phone? I'm not entirely sure. They have a lot of work to do making their brand attractive in the US.

That isn't what sequential growth means. It means growth Quarter over Quarter compared to themselves, not growth compared to anyone else.

Its useful for measuring momentum without having your figures diluted by a transitional year. Everyone already knows that Nokia isn't selling tens of millions of phones a quarter. We know this.

What is additionally useful though is how Nokia is operating on a more short term basis because it can give hints towards future trends. If the trend is that Nokia is steadily increasing its volumes, then it can be seen as an indicator of slow but steady growth.

It is also why I repeatedly bring out regional breakdowns of sales because it helps to serve as an early indicator of growth of the platform.